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Thought this was funny...

I don't really have much going on right now other than being super busy at work and fighting a cold so I thought I would post something funny Bryce and I saw at a Walmart this past year :) Hehe.

A much needed relaxing weekend

 

With both Bryce and myself fighting the ''Boulder Cold'', I say that because everyone in this town is sick, we decided to skip the CX racing this weekend to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep. We spun around on our bikes both days but just to get some fresh air and enjoy the warm weather. We also took our first trip to IKEA in preparation for the Winter Park condo transformation. Above is round 1 of the items needed to fully furnish a place that will sleep 10 in beds, 2 full baths and a functioning kitchen. Obviously none of the big stuff is there but we're almost done with all the small things :)

 

On a totally random note, most of you know that I have a SERIOUS chocolate and peanut butter addiction. As usual, I was craving Reeses Sunday afternoon and although we didn't have any, I did a little improvising and was pleasantly surprised! Just some food for thought if you every need to satisfy that chocolate/peanut butter craving :)

Valmont Bike Park Trail Maintenance

  

Yesterday afternoon I headed over to the VBP to get my volunteer trail maintenance on with several other great friends.

 

Since we will be racing several cyclocross events on this course, there's a lot of weeding and prepping to do to ensure it is clear of as much debris as possible. Heck, I'd be out there every night if I knew for sure it would prevent another tubular flat!!!

 

 Big thanks to Pete Weber of IMBA and the BMA for getting it all set up. It's amazing how fast 2 hours of work can fly by when you're having a great time!

 

Also, another thank you to Mix 1 and Breeze Bars for the delicious snacks at the end of the session. It was much needed. Until next time!

Winter Park Condo Update

 We are under contract and ready to close!!! It's been a long process of getting things together but we've agreed on prices and concessions now just finalizing the loan piece.

 

The property definitely needs some TLC and you know I'll do a full ''before and after'' report but figured I'd show a few snapshots from the listing so you can get a better idea.

The bottom patio is ours and the one right above it is our good friend's Shelby and Will. We are really looking forward to spending some fun summer nights with friends and family up there :)

Since the place has been vacant, this is how the living/dining room presents itself when you walk in. Pretty bland and boring now but if you've seen the transformation from our place in Boulder, you know it's in for a great facelift!

 

The above pic is obviously a bit over the top and much more high end then we are thinking, but it really gives a good view of our overall idea - light floors, grey walls, black accent furniture, grey couch and black kitchen cabinets with stainless appliances! Let the IKEA shopping spree begin :)

Valmont and Buena Vista CX

 

Since the Valmont Bike Park opened, there was no doubt it would hold numerous cyclocross races throughout the fall. With multiple sand pits and stair climbs, it has all the suffer obstacles one could think of for a perfect CX course. Not only was I pumped to race there due to the terrain, it's only a 7 minute bike ride from my house so the logistics couldn't be any better!  

 

The day started out great with getting the holeshot on the start then settling in behind rockstar Nicole Duke. About half way through the first lap, I noticed my front end getting incredibly squirrely and soon noticed I was completely flat! I tried to ignore it until I went around a corner and totally wiped out. I very easily rode into the pits while almost all 28 girls in the field passed me and changed my wheel as quickly as possible. I got back on course and managed to pick off girls through the next 4 laps but my head just wasn't in it. I was super bummed that I had blown a tubular in the first 4 minutes of the race and just didn't have the right girls around me to get me back in the game.

 

Although I wasn't racing my heart out, I managed to get back into the top 10 with a 9th place finish and a minute or two behind the race leaders. I was also very happy that I didn't burp any air out of my spare front wheel as I'm trying them out as a tubeless setup! PSI was a bit high but it got me to the finish :)

 

Check out this sweet video from the race. It will give you a good perspective of the course!

Since I didn't have the race I was looking for at Valmont, Bryce and I drove down to Buena Vista early Sunday morning to try it again! It was a perfect fall morning with no clouds and crisp cold air that eventually hit mid 60s just before the race start! There wasn't a large field since it was a solid 2.5hr drive from Boulder, however, it was strong one. Apparently this was the weekend to get the kinks out because I totally biffed during a practice mount on a warm up lap and sliced the top of my knee cap really good.  So, before the race started I was already a blood mess with a swollen knee. Oh well! During the first lap, I found myself in second behind a very strong girl and looking to stay close. On the first sandy hill, I attempted to ride it instead of run (which was dumb) and accidentally dropped my chain which caused me to move to 3rd. I chased the girl down for a few laps then decided to make my move on the final lap. That didn't last long as I totally wiped out on another sandy/rocky run up and aggravated my hip REAL bad to the point of having to soft pedal in. I remained in 3rd and came home with a bit of cash but mostly happy to be getting these silly issues and mishaps out of the way earlier in the season!

Interbike 2011

 

On Wednesday morning, Bryce and I jumped on a plane to Las Vegas to attend the 2011 Interbike convention. This is the country's largest bike show that is designed to show off the upcoming year's product and get retailers excited to carry their brands. Below is a view outside our 52nd story hotel room in the Cosmopolitan!

 

I went out there to work with one of my clients, Madd Gear, and Bryce was out there to run around and check out all the cool new stuff he could find :) Although it was strictly a business trip for me, it was fun to sneak away and see the Timex peeps and several other good friends either working or roaming the show. It was also awesome seeing how influential our brand is in the Skate/BMX world and how much we really are going to grow in 2012! Lots of planning to do but definitely excited for the next steps and SUPER jazzed about the opportunity to go to Australia this fall to help integrate our new online ordering system into my accounting software. Also, stay tuned for some new and exciting news for the 2012 Timex team!

Bicycle Village - Boulder

When Timex switched bike sponsors in 2010, I was forced to sell my Trek Top Fuel. Luckily, a great couple out of Pennsylvania were interested and extremely happy with the purchase :) A year later, Jennifer decided to take a job in Colorado and they moved out to Boulder! Small world. Her husband, Chris, worked in one of the top 100 nationally ranked bike shops in PA and wanted to continue his success in the industry so he joined the Bicycle Village Boulder team. Just recently he was promoted to the shop manager and has been doing a fantastic job. I highly suggest checking the shop out and asking for Chris Arterburn!

The Cyclocross season has officially started!

 Saturday kicked off the first CX race of the year in Golden, CO. The Tough Girls team put on the 'Queens of Cross' race that had a fantastic turnout, a great course, and perfect weather.

It was great to see the usual cyclocross crowd at the venue cheering and getting ready to race. There's truly no other sport that can match the vibe and fun atmosphere that a Colorado cross race has :)

This was the first time I was able to test out my tubular wheel setup on the ever-so-awesome Orbea Terra and it was sick! I was able to run a really low tire pressure which made the extremely rough course much more comfortable.

 Although getting on and off your bike is not an easy task, it's still so much fun and a great change of pace from all the summer's road and mountain bike riding. The mounts and dismounts are a critical skill in the sport and I still have a lot of practicing to do!

It's been a while since I've raced CX so I was forced to race the SW 3 category on Saturday. After grabbing the holeshot, I didn't look back and took the W with several minutes to spare.

Sunday was the Lookout CX race in Golden. Bryce and I actually did this race in 2009 before we went to a moto race. Luckily I was able to race with the SW Open and had a great time. Again, I was able to grab the holeshot but quickly found myself chasing 2 girls that were putting in strong efforts right from the gun. I wasn't able to match them but fortunately stayed strong for a solid 3rd place finish.

It's been a while since I've been on the cross scene and I'm stoked to be back at it and look forward to lots of improvement throughout the season.

It really did feel like Fall today

It was quite ironic that the first Wednesday cyclocross practice brought 50 degree temps with pouring rain. Although we were a complete muddy mess, it was an absolute blast and got me more than excited for the fall and the start of the CX season!

 

Later that afternoon, everyone from Franklin (one of my clients) headed downtown Denver for a rooftop BBQ at the VP's house then over to Coors Field for an evening Rockies baseball game. We were incredibly fortunate that the rain stopped but it was super chilly and it was the first time in a while I had to indulge in a warm cup of hot cocoa! As much as I love summer, I can definitely do without the 100* days and constant application of sunscreen. Hooray, Fall may finally be here!

Horray, Bryce can ride CX again :)

As of this weekend, I can finally ride my favorite dirt roads and race cyclocross with Mr. Bingham. He bought Shep's XO2 which was the exact same bike I used to have :) We christened the new ride on a long backroad ride on Sunday, then rode up to Jamestown with his dad today! For his first time on a ''road-like'' bike, he's not doing too bad!

Gotta Love Bouder, CO!

Bryce and I went for a long walk to run several errands Saturday morning and stumbled upon this ''Bike Repair'' stand near Whole Foods. Whoever was genius enough to think of putting a fixed stand with the standard bicycle tools along with a pump for public use deserves a big round of a applause. Just when I think Boulder couldn't get any better, it does! I love my home :)

Homeowners #2 ?!?

  

So it's actually a really funny story because I would never have thought one month ago that we would be buying a mountain home in Winter Park, Colorado! Ready for it? Here it goes - as planned, we went up to Winter Park for the second to last race of the Epic Singletrack series on Friday evening since it was a much earlier start than normal. Also, as planned, we were staying at our good friend Shelby's condo in Fraser (about 3 miles from WP) so we didn't have to get a hotel. At dinner, one conversation led to another and we got on the subject that the unit below hers was up for sale on foreclosure and was less than half the price that she bought her place for over a year ago. If you know me well enough, you knew my brain was on complete overboard with ideas spinning left and right!

 

I did some math and figured out that buying this place was not only affordable, but a ridiculously good investment and a potential money making opportunity for the future. I knew the floor plan was identical to my friend's without the lofted ceilings but still needed to physically check it out with Bryce before we put in an offer. We knew it needed work but we were actually quite surprised at how nice it truly was. We immediately rushed home to put in an offer and found out that the price had actually been lowered another $10K! Sweet! We put in an offer that was just silly low and the bank came back telling us that there were multiple offers and to submit our highest and best offer. Ugh...how badly did we want this place? Regardless of what we paid, it was going to be a good deal so it was up to us to figure out what the highest number we were willing to go was. We settled for upping the price $15K more than our offer plus $3K in paid closing costs and they countered back with $9K over our original asking price and $2200 in paid closing costs...weird counter but we were all over it and verbally submitted our acceptance :) It's not 100% ours until we get the final paperwork Friday or early next week but it's pretty safe to say it's most likely ours! It's super exciting but we still need to be prepared for the worst so we're trying to stay relaxed. Stay tuned for lots more info once we get the 'yeh' or 'neh' and sign on the dotted line!